Loft conversion with skylights in an inter-war Bexleyheath DA6 semi, London Borough of Bexley

Bexleyheath · DA6 · Bexley

Rear Extension Drawings in Bexleyheath DA6

Fixed-fee, MCIAT-chartered rear extension drawings for Bexleyheath (DA6) homeowners — London Borough of Bexley validation and local constraints handled from the start.

Bexleyheath (DA6) grew up as an inter-war and post-war suburb around the Broadway shopping centre, so most of its housing is 1920s-1950s semi-detached and detached stock where loft conversions and rear extensions are the staple jobs. The bulk of the district sits outside any conservation area, which keeps many householder projects within permitted-development limits.

The exceptions are two nationally important heritage sites: the Red House Lane Conservation Area protecting William Morris's 1859 Arts-and-Crafts house off Upton Road, and Danson Park with its Grade II registered landscape and Georgian Danson House. Work near those boundaries, and to any listed building, is assessed far more tightly than on the surrounding suburban streets.

Proposed floor plan

Bexleyheath DA6

Bexleyheath (DA6) — planning at a glance

Council: London Borough of Bexley
Postcode district: DA6
Planning portal: View the Bexley planning portal
Housing stock: Bexleyheath is dominated by inter-war and post-war semi-detached and detached suburban housing laid out around the Broadway, punctuated by two national heritage anchors — Philip Webb's red-brick Red House of 1859-60 off Upton Road and the Georgian Danson House in its Grade II registered parkland.
Article 4: London Borough of Bexley does not publish its Article 4 directions to the national planning register, so permitted development rights in Bexleyheath (DA6) can’t be confirmed from open data alone — we check the direction schedule with the council before recommending a route, as part of the fixed fee. No Article 4 direction is confirmed for the Red House Lane or Danson Park conservation areas specifically; because Bexley applies Article 4(2) directions to several — but not all — of its conservation areas, confirm on the council's own conservation map whether one covers a given DA6 property before relying on permitted development.
Conservation: Red House LaneDanson Park
Sample streets: Red House Lane · Upton Road · Danson Road · Long Lane
Local constraints: Red House Lane Conservation Area protecting the setting of Philip Webb's 1859-60 Red House off Upton RoadDanson Park Grade II registered historic park and garden, with the Georgian Danson House as a listed anchor, constraining development on its fringesLarge parts of the inter-war suburb fall outside any conservation area, so permitted-development limits govern most rear and loft workMature suburban street trees on several DA6 roads carrying Tree Preservation Orders

Planning in Bexleyheath (DA6): what to know before you apply

Most DA6 householder work sits outside any conservation area and can proceed under permitted development, but projects near the Red House Lane Conservation Area or the Danson Park registered landscape are judged on their impact on those settings and usually need a full application. Because Bexley applies Article 4 directions to some but not all of its conservation areas, we confirm on the council's conservation map whether a specific property is caught before assuming permitted-development rights survive.

Typical Bexleyheath housing stock

Bexleyheath is dominated by inter-war and post-war semi-detached and detached suburban housing laid out around the Broadway, punctuated by two national heritage anchors — Philip Webb's red-brick Red House of 1859-60 off Upton Road and the Georgian Danson House in its Grade II registered parkland.

Streets we regularly draw for in Bexleyheath

Red House Lane · Upton Road · Danson Road · Long Lane

What DA6 is actually built of

Measured from 227 classified residential buildings in DA6, not from a description of the area.

Bexleyheath DA6 housing mix

Residential building form across the DA6 postcode district, from 227 classified buildings.

Attached on more than one side	28%
Attached on one side	60%
Detached	12%
Median building footprint	69 m²
Addresses per buildingAbove about 2 means flats and maisonettes dominate	1.26
Buildings classified	227

Source: Ordnance Survey National Geographic Database (derived statistics). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Extracted 2026-08-17.

Rear Extension Drawings for Bexleyheath (DA6) homes: the package and the process

Depth is the number the application turns on, and it has to be measured from the original rear wall of the house rather than from whatever is there now. The drawings carry that dimension, the eaves and ridge heights, the position of any rooflight, and the boundary distances on both sides.

Where the scheme goes beyond the standard allowance and relies on the larger home extension route, the drawings serve a second purpose: they are what the council sends to the neighbours during the consultation. A clear, dimensioned proposed elevation answers the objection about overshadowing before it is made.

Depth is limited by the plot as much as by the rules. A long garden behind a terrace can take the full allowance, while a short one runs out before the rules do — and on a semi or detached house the same depth reads very differently from the boundary.

Do I need planning permission for a rear extension in London?

Many single-storey rear extensions qualify as permitted development, meaning no planning application is needed, provided depth, height and materials stay within set limits. That changes if your property sits in a conservation area or is subject to an Article 4 direction, both of which can remove permitted development rights across a street or borough — in that case a full householder planning application is required regardless of size.

Even where an extension qualifies, most homeowners obtain a Lawful Development Certificate to confirm that status in writing before building — useful for mortgage lenders, buyers and Building Control. We check your property against your borough's constraints before recommending a route.

How deep can a single-storey rear extension go?

Depth is the main constraint on a rear extension, and it depends on your house type and whether you use standard permitted development or the larger home extension scheme.

Permitted development

Standard permitted development allows a single-storey rear extension up to 3 metres deep for terraced and semi-detached houses, or 4 metres for detached houses, generally with eaves height limited to match or stay close to the existing house.

Larger home extension scheme

The prior-approval scheme extends this to 6 metres for terraced and semi-detached houses and 8 metres for detached houses. Your council writes to affected neighbours; if none object within the notification period, approval follows without a full planning application. If an objection is raised, the council assesses the impact on neighbouring light and outlook itself, rather than automatically refusing, so a well-considered design still has a good chance of approval.

Designing the kitchen-diner: rooflights, bi-folds and daylight

Most rear extensions exist to create one open-plan kitchen, dining and living space, so the drawing work focuses on getting light and flow right within the depth you are allowed.

Structural opening sized for bi-fold or sliding doors across most of the rear elevation
Rooflights or a roof lantern positioned to light the centre of the room, away from the shadow line of the main house
Open-plan layout tested against the 45-degree rule, which protects daylight to your neighbours' windows and can limit how close a flank wall or roof comes to the boundary
Floor build-up and threshold detail coordinated so the new floor meets the existing one without a step

Rear extension routes at a glance
Route	When it applies	Typical fee
Permitted development (Lawful Development Certificate)	Depth within 3m (terraced/semi) or 4m (detached), height and materials within PD limits	PD/LDC pack ~£950–£1,450
Larger home extension (prior approval)	Depth up to 6m (terraced/semi) or 8m (detached), with neighbour notification	from £1,100
Full householder planning permission	Extension exceeds PD/larger-home limits, or the property is in a conservation area with an Article 4 direction	Full Planning pack ~£1,600–£2,400
Planning + Building Regulations (structural)	Combined planning and construction-ready pack with structural calculations for the opening and roof	Planning + Building Regs pack ~£2,200–£3,850

Sheet from a rear extension drawings package drawn for a Bexleyheath property in DA6, showing the existing and proposed arrangement at scale — A sheet from the rear extension drawings package we submit to London Borough of Bexley for Bexleyheath (DA6) properties.

Also in Bexleyheath DA6

Planning Permission Planning Drawings Architectural Drawings Building Regulations Drawings Loft Conversion Drawings Rear Extension Drawings across Bexley Rear Extension Drawings across London

FAQ

Rear Extension Drawings in Bexleyheath DA6 — FAQs

How much does a rear extension cost to design in London?+

Rear extension drawings start from £1,100, with the final fee set by the route your extension takes — permitted development, prior approval or full planning — and whether you need building regulations and structural calculations bundled in. The fee is fixed and agreed upfront.

Do I need an architect for a rear extension?+

No. DrawingsDirect is an MCIAT-chartered architectural technologist practice, producing the same council-accepted drawings as an architect for a fixed fee typically around 30% lower.

How long does it take to get rear extension drawings?+

Drawings are typically ready around 7 days from survey. Once submitted, councils have a statutory 8-week period to determine a standard householder planning application.

What is the 45-degree rule?+

It is a daylight test many London councils apply to check that a rear extension does not block too much light to a neighbour's nearest window, measured as a line drawn at 45 degrees from that window. We check it before submission, not after a refusal.

Will I need a Party Wall Agreement for a rear extension?+

Only if your foundations or new walls sit on or near the boundary with a neighbouring property. A straightforward rear extension set within your own plot often does not trigger the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, unlike a Side Return or Wraparound extension, which usually does.

Do I need planning permission for an extension in Bexley?+

Bexley has no borough-wide Article 4 direction affecting typical householder permitted development, so its semi-detached homes often keep fuller rights than inner-London terraces — larger rear and single-storey extensions can qualify. Conservation areas such as Old Bexley Village and Danson Park, and riverside flood-zone constraints toward Erith, restrict this. We check your address first and can confirm permitted development with a Lawful Development Certificate.

Can I build a bigger extension because Bexley plots are larger?+

Often, yes. The generous interwar plots across Bexleyheath, Sidcup and Welling make substantial rear and double-storey extensions viable where a tight terrace could not. The limit is usually design and amenity policy rather than space. We design to use the plot fully within permitted-development allowances or a well-evidenced full application.

What extra control applies in Old Bexley Village or around Danson Park?+

These conservation areas carry design control over materials, rooflines and front elevations, and the Upton area of Bexleyheath includes the setting of William Morris's Red House. Permitted development is often restricted there, so we design to the area's character and prepare a full, context-led application where a standard permitted-development route doesn't apply.

How long does Bexley Council take to decide?+

Bexley determines most householder applications within the statutory eight-week period once validated; conservation cases can involve additional consultation. A complete, correctly scaled submission is the best way to avoid a validation query — we prepare Bexley drawings to the council's checklist to keep the application on track.

How much do planning drawings cost in Bexley?+

We quote a fixed fee upfront, typically around 30% below an architect's charge for the same council-accepted drawings, with free redraws until Bexley approves. Because plots here allow larger schemes, the fee tracks complexity — a single-storey rear differs from a double-storey — and we confirm it once we understand your plans.

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